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Topic: China and Chinese Numismatics (Read 3327 times)

To understand what is happening in Chinese numismatics it might be useful to understand serious, positive developments in China. These changes reach down from the general secretary to every corner of the country, including coin and medal production. In that spirit, the following is from today's front page of the China Daily:

"Xi: Uproot undesirable work styles"

"Fight to continue against hedonism, extravagance and other misconduct"

"Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee stressed that the fight against undesirable work styles should not be stopped...The new forms of misconduct are, in their nature, old problems said Xi... "The...work to improve the Party's conduct and work styles should never end."

In other news:

Former Chongqing political official facing corruption investigation

"Sun Zhengcai, the former secretary of Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, has been placed under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes...According to the procurator ate, Sun has been placed under "coercive measures," which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.

The investigation is underway, the procurotate said in a statement released on Monday...he abused power and used his job to gain benefits for others, then accepted their huge bribes in return, either paid in cash or property, the CCDI said. He was found to seek substantial benefits for his relatives' businesses and accepted valuable gifts."

This is intended to offer a background for occasional numismatic-related events. I hope any responses will be confined to coin-related subjects.

I fail to see how the same-old, same-old of the Chinese Communist government can/will influence Chinese numismatics. Don't be fooled. What Xi has been doing is only "window-dressing" to set an example for his other buddies to "tow the party line" or be exposed with some trumped-up charges.

As you are aware, I am a collector of modern Chinese coins and medals.

Sometimes, I purchase items from USA-based dealers. Is something "brewing" which will limit these dealers ability to obtain numismatic material from the PRC? If so, it would be better for me to know sooner rather than later so that I purchase from these USA-based dealers while they still have inventory.

Sometimes, I purchase items from PRC-based dealers. Is something "brewing" which will (in general) limit the ability of numismatic materials to move into or out of the PRC? If so, this would limit my ability to purchase items from PRC-based dealers.

I have read your post numerous times, trying to understand the underlying meaning and the impact on my ability to pursue my hobby. Any additional information will be appreciated.

1) Free trade with china restricted, it will be harder to send or receive from china. Trump protectionist agenda will have ripple effects through customs, shipper restrictions, foreign accounts, etc. The only way to hedge against this is to own high numismatic value items, those items will always be difficult to find in the local market and collectors/investors will seek foreign sources to purchase, my minimum for ownership is at least $500 premium over spot to be worth keeping.

2) Crackdowns against corruption will continue, before there may have been 100,000-1,000,000 corrupt politicians, today it may be 1,000-10,000 and those that are left are at the top of the food chain and have covered their tracks well. The demand of 30-100 master sets will continue each year. To make 30 complete sets is very difficult, it requires many key coins that are hard to find because investors have locked them out of the market.

3) Alternative investments are becoming available to chinese buyers, bitcoins (some have spiked 100-300% in the last few days), foreign properties, stock markets, business opportunities, visa programs, etc. All these will compete with gold more so than ever, which will make bullion just an insurance hedge against inflation and war. Bullion is no longer an investment, but a just a hedge.

4) PCGS for modern coins is dead on arrival, anyone that is grading coins in PCGS is getting killed, I refuse to buy any MS69 or MS70 coins at price above MS68 price. Silver PCGS I refuse to buy above melt, those coins are destroyed forever.

5) Goldsheet and NGC price guide have taken the business opportunity of being a chinese dealer to razor thin margins. You will see the number of sellers in the market increase as many coin shops will choose to sell on their own on Ebay, Heritage and Stacks, rather than wholesale to big chinese dealers. This trend convinced me to move on from coin business to other opportunities few months ago. Starting in 2018 I am just an investor, collector and consigner for past customers.

Sometimes, I purchase items from USA-based dealers. Is something "brewing" which will limit these dealers ability to obtain numismatic material from the PRC? If so, it would be better for me to know sooner rather than later so that I purchase from these USA-based dealers while they still have inventory.

Sometimes, I purchase items from PRC-based dealers. Is something "brewing" which will (in general) limit the ability of numismatic materials to move into or out of the PRC? If so, this would limit my ability to purchase items from PRC-based dealers.

There may be some occasional temporary disruptions, but I do not expect the supply situation will fundamentally change for overseas buyers. I think that this policy is actually a very pro-business development that will benefit collectors. From what I have seen, people who reportedly have given and taken bribes, or business "gifts", never give collectors, honest dealers or anyone else a fair shake.

Do you have any information suggesting the PRC will impose restrictions on the movement of numismatic items (coins, currency or stamps) into or out of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region? If the PRC wishes to limit or prohibit the export of numismatic items (pre-1949) from the PRC, it seems as though it is necessary to expand this limitation or prohibition to Hong Kong and Macau. Otherwise, it is too easy for mainland collectors, investors and dealers to circumvent this limitation or prohibition, permitting them to sell items in the various auctions and permitting buyers to remove these items from the jurisdiction of the PRC.

Do you have any information suggesting the PRC will impose restrictions on the movement of numismatic items (coins, currency or stamps) into or out of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region? If the PRC wishes to limit or prohibit the export of numismatic items (pre-1949) from the PRC, it seems as though it is necessary to expand this limitation or prohibition to Hong Kong and Macau. Otherwise, it is too easy for mainland collectors, investors and dealers to circumvent this limitation or prohibition, permitting them to sell items in the various auctions and permitting buyers to remove these items from the jurisdiction of the PRC.

Mark Bonke

Mark,

I haven't heard anything to suggest this will happen in the foreseeable future. Also, I think it is prohibited to take older items from the mainland to Hong Kong, so the only coins in question are those already in HK.

3) Alternative investments are becoming available to chinese buyers, bitcoins (some have spiked 100-300% in the last few days), foreign properties, stock markets, business opportunities, visa programs, etc. All these will compete with gold more so than ever, which will make bullion just an insurance hedge against inflation and war. Bullion is no longer an investment, but a just a hedge.

Bitcoins are restricted in China and I have not found anyone there on this trip who owns any. Most of the time I needed to explain what they are. This is one area where I could see the People's Bank imposing further restrictions. I doubt that China will be a factor in any future growth for Bitcoin, at least for now. Either that, or I just don't know the right people!

I understand the posts here are cautious as information is coming forward. I think we have all been warned already and a matter of time for China to follow thru.... Let me go out on a limb...We were told some vintage early years will have restrictions. This will be enforced in time...I agree w/ Clark that vintage Chinese will have a bigger upside than MCC. MCC is almost 40 yrs old, vintage are over 100 yrs old....China stated some time ago that their MCC will serve the domestic market when demand outstrips supply. Is that happening now? We in the West will not have access to many new medals and coins, etc.....More books and research mean many early year, unknown medals will be discovered. At some point early year artists will rise. Everyone knows i think highly of Feng Yunming, what about Chen Jian? I know of his God silver, gilt brass and 2 sizes of brass is about it. Other early year artists?...When the music stops, what we have is all that we have.....Like others have posted, supply in the West is very thin. Dealers in Asia (not China) say their Chinese were sold back years ago. Probably the same worldwide...... Low supply and high demand on the way.....